The 9-Hole Course opened March 26.

The 18-Hole Course opened April 2

The Driving Range is open on the Natural Grass Tee.

As of Monday March 31, 2008 we expect to open the 18-hole course Wednesday April 2. We mowed most of the greens on the 18-hole course today before the rain began. The greens look good for early in the season. The grass has greened up considerably. The entire course should start turning green with the rain that we are getting today and tonight. We expect to be maintaining most of the course - mowing greens, tees and fairways and raking bunkers - within a couple of days.

As of Wednesday March 26, 2008 the 9-hole course is open. The 18-hole course should open in the next several days, but forecasted night time low temperatures suggest that it will take several days before the greens are growing enough to mow. We are optimistic that the 18-hole course could be open by the first weekend in April. It all depends on the weather.

As of Tuesday March 25, 2008 we are planning on opening the 9-hole course tomorrow, Wednesday March 26 sometime around mid-morning (if there is no frost, it will take us a few hours to remove the ropes around the greens, put the tee markers out on each hole and cut new holes on each green). The 18-hole course could open in a week or so.

As of Monday March 24, 2008 we still have considerable snow still on the ground from Friday's storm. We removed the protective winter covers from the Driving Range tee on Monday March 24 and opened the tee for the season. The 9-hole course is almost ready to open for the year.

The Driving Range Tee is bright green after the winter covers

were removed on Monday March 24. While there are still patches

of snow in the landing zone, the tee itself is in mid-season form.

As of Friday March 21, 2008 we have an inconsequential amount of snow on the ground. The snow adds a little to the ground moisture, but not enough to impact the looming opening of the course. We expect low overnight temperatures to drop into the low 20ºs this weekend. Those low temps are the biggest impediment to opening. The good news, is that after this weekend, we don't see a forecast calling for temperatures in the low 20ºs.

As of Wednesday March 19, 2008 we are finding more and more areas of the course where the frost is out of the ground. Based on the lastest weather forecasts, it appears that we might be able to open the 9-hole course on Tuesday March 25. Most of the rain forecast for the past few days stayed to the south of us. As a result, there was less melting than we anticipated. We hope to be able to uncover the driving range practice tee Monday March 24.

As of Monday March 17, 2008 the frost is out of the ground in some fairways and roughs. On tees and greens the frost is thin and should be melted by the rain forecast for Monday and Tuesday. That would allow the 9-hole course to open, once the greens have had a day or so to drain off. One complication is that the night time temperatures are forecast to fall into the lower 20ºs, which could cause everything to freeze again. The driving range practice tee was covered all winter and the protected turf under the covers is bright green. We want to avoid shocking the lush green turf with a blast of cold weather when we remove the covers, so we will look for a window of several days where the low temperature is forecast to not drop too far below freezing. If the forecasts hold, we will be open within five to ten days.

When Do We Open The Golf Course For The Season?

9-Hole Course - We open the 9-hole course as soon as the frost is out of the greens. When there is frost in the greens, the layer of frozen soil prevents water from draining down through the soil. The greens are inordinately wet because all moisture is trapped between the surface and the frost line. Once the frost line dissipates, the moisture trapped at the surface quickly drains away.

Because the greens are mostly made of sand, they are the first part of the course to freeze and the last part of the course to thaw out. A good indicator of the presence of frost is ice on our lakes. Normally, the greens are free of frost within a few days of the the last of the winter ice melting off the lakes.

How Can We Tell How Much Frost is Still Down There?

Why Do We Use Winter Turf Covers On The Practice Tee But Not On The Greens?

18-Hole Course - We open the 18-hole course as soon as the creeping bentgrass on the greens is growing enough to be mowed. Depending on the weather, this is usually a week to ten days after the frost is out of the greens.

Average Date of Course Opening  - We typically open the 9-hole course around the middle of March and the 18-hole course toward the end of March. Only four times in our history have we not opened in March. Twice we were lucky and opened in February. Twice we were not so fortunate and did not get open until April.

The earliest that we have ever opened the course on greens was February 25 - the course was as green as mid summer and we were able to use motor carts. The latest that we have ever opened was April 8.

The bad news is that when the course opens in February, it does not stay open. Things tend to even out weather wise and bad weather in March can close us down if the greens freeze again. On the other hand, if the course does not open until April, it usually remains open from that date forward.

In 2006 we opened the 9-hole course March 10 and the 18-hole course March 30.

In 2007 we opened the 9-hole course March 20 and the 18-hole course March 24.

In 2008 we opened the 9-hole course March 26 and the 18-hole course April 2.